Although there’s been much controversy surrounding the recent release of Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, I found that the film pushed the envelope in all the right places. It demanded attention and forced the viewer to take a critical look at taboo topics like rape, incest, abuse and parental violence. My only gripe about the film were the raw camera techniques employed by Lee Daniels. Although I can understand why he choose to shoot the film in this way, I thought it could have been done better.
This film would make for a great critical issues stories because of the notoriety the film has gotten, even creating an Oscar buzz, while also being so controversial because of it’s portrayal of an overweight, illiterate, poverty stricken black girl from Harlem. One idea is to compare and contrast The Color Purple with Precious, exploring the themes of both films, the controversy and even projections for how Precious will do at the Oscars compared to The Color Purple.
